New Delhi: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said that with the surging number of COVID-19 cases in the state, there is a possibility of lockdown once again in the next 2 days. But an organization associated with the film industry, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), has requested the CM of Maharashtra to not impose lockdown again.
FWICE wrote a letter to the CM Uddhav Thackeray on Friday saying that the lockdown which was imposed last year caused a huge loss to the industry, which in turn, left several employees associated with the film industry jobless. It has also been mentioned in the letter that in the event of a lockdown once again, all the people associated with the industry will again have to face huge economic difficulties and the industry will again come under crisis.
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The letter read, “With the growing number of patients infected by the Covid-19 in Maharashtra, the Government in probably planning to impose a new LOCKDOWN in Maharashtra, particularly in Mumbai. Though we are concerned about the situation in the city, on behalf of scores of actors workers and technicians of the entire media and entertainment industry, we hereby urge the Government to not impose any more lockdown as it has already harmed the economy of the entertainment industry earlier and that people are trying to recover from the losses incurred due to the earlier lockdown.”
“The financial losses caused by the previous layoffs have not yet been recovered. Many people are still unemployed today. Unemployment would rise again if the government imposes the lockdown again. We strongly urge you and your Government to not impose this lockdown once again and disturb the economy of this largest revenue-generating industry. It will hamper the daily living of the scores of hands working in the industry. Difficult times do come and go. The need of the hour is to fight this deadly disease and cut off its spread by taking all precautions and we in the industry assure you of abiding by all the rules and regulations’, the letter further read.
FWICE also assured that they will increase the medical facilities on film sets and will follow all the precautionary measures.
When ABP News contacted FWICE President B.N. Tiwari, he said, “There is an atmosphere of fear in the entire industry due to the possibility of the situation getting worse by the lockdown once again. That is why we have again asked Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Appealed not to impose lockdown. We have also asked the Chief Minister to hold a meeting in this regard.”
Stay tuned for more updates.